About Asian American Studies

In an era of U.S. global hegemony fueled by an increasing military and economic presence in Oceania and the Pacific Rim, Asian American Studies plays a crucial role in analyzing and shaping economic, political, cultural, and international relations among Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the United States. Thus, Asian American Studies provides critical interdisciplinary perspectives on the various histories of contact, migration, and settlement of Asian groups in the United States. “Asian Americans” comprise diverse groups of diasporic communities and are increasingly divided along socioeconomic and geographic lines. Asian American Studies also analyzes the experiences of Asian Americans through comparative and relational perspectives, and examines the identity, generational differences, gender and sexual identities, and anti-Asian violence within diverse Asian American populations.

At UCR, Asian American students constitute 33 percent of the student body. Presently, this major has three ladder faculty, Professor Edward Chang, (an ethnicist), Associate Professor Emily Hue (a cultural theorist trained in visual culture and performance studies), and Assistant Professor Keith Miyake (a critical geographer). Our faculty members seek to address the multiplicity of issues facing the large East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Southwest Asian/Middle Eastern, and Pacific Islander student body and community at large.

Faculty

Major Requirements

To earn a bachelor of arts in Asian American Studies you must take:

Core courses required of all majors

  1. Lower-division requirements (12 units)
    1. ETST 001
    2. ETST 005
    3. One chosen from ETST 002, ETST 003 or ETST 007
  1. Upper-division requirements (40 units)
    1. ETST 101A or ETST 101B
    2. ETST 100 or ETST 131
    3. ETST 106 and ETST 191R
    4. 16 additional upper-division units in ethnic studies chosen from courses focusing on the Asian American experience
    5. A minimum of one ethnic studies course chosen from two of the following four areas of emphasis (8 units)
      1. Africana Studies
      2. Chicano Studies
      3. Native American Studies
      4. Comparative Issues

Note: no internship courses may be counted toward the upper-division electives in ethnic studies.

Minor Requirements

To minor consists in Asian American studies, you must take:

  1. Lower-division requirement (4 units): ETST 005
  2. Upper-division requirements: 20 additional upper-division units in ethnic studies chosen from courses focusing on Asian Americans
  3. Appropriate prerequisites as needed